PESHAWAR: Some rare and precious art pieces illustrating popular couplets of Sufi poet Rahman Baba and Ghani Khan are on the verge of ruining as the authorities concerned have yet to come forward to preserve this national asset.

Noted painter and calligrapher late Mohammad Arif Minhas had made about 100 art pieces illustrating couplets of Rahman Baba and Ghani Khan during hectic efforts of six years. His son Zeeshan Arif, a young artist-cum-photographer now fears that the art pieces of his legendary father might fall to philistinism and ruin due to lack of space in his dingy home.

Mr Arif has sought assistance of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa culture directorate in persevering master pieces of his father.

Mr Minhas had represented Pakistan in art competitions in Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Iran and Gulf countries and won gold medals, shields and cash prizes for his artworks. He was an expert calligrapher of Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto and English languages. His first book on Pashto calligraphy titled ‘Gulistan-i-Qalam’ came out in 2008 and was well received.

Mr Arif of Kochi bazaar, Peshawar city, told Dawn that his father had met former chief minister Haider Khan Hoti and former culture minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain and had sought their help to preserve the art pieces, but to no avail. His sudden death on December 23, 2011 has further reduced chances of the artworks being preserved, he said.

“The art of calligraphy and painting runs through our family blood as my grandfather M.M. Sharif too was a great artist who had migrated from Gujranwala before partition and settled in Peshawar. I learnt the art of calligraphy and painting from my father. My father was very concerned about proper preservation of his artworks,” he recalled.

“I have stacked art pieces of my father on the walls and floor of my murky room as I don’t have extra space in my home. I want that KP culture directorate purchase these art pieces for Rahman Baba shrine where it could be properly persevered and also visitors to the Sufi poet shrine would evince interest in it,” Mr Arif suggested.

He said that the art pieces were put on display in 2006 in an exhibition arranged under the auspices of Abasin Arts Council, Peshawar.

“At times my father would seem to have a strange kind of feelings and would say it seemed he had wasted his life on serving his pursuits which had no value and respect. I would be happy if a tasteful person purchase these art pieces and preserve them,” Mr Arif said.

Answering a question, he regretted that there was no art gallery in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where artworks of the noted artist could be preserved. He said that the same treatment was also meted out to the precious art pieces of other renowned artists of the city.